Overall, I'd rank this show pedestrian for late fall of '72 (although that's not a bad thing). If whole shows are your thing, then look ahead to 12/15 and 12/31 for this month. But if you don't have an allergy for cherry picking, then head straight for the highlight here: Playin'. This one's another epic from fall of '72, and sits comfortably with beautiful beasts like 11/18 and 10/26. The Other One from this night is worth a listen, as one can hear whispers of an almost embryonic fragment of Eyes of the World starting around the eighteen minute mark, and continuing for a about a minute before the momentum dissolves into another alley of exploration. The Playin' of this evening earns itself five stars, while the show as a whole earns three, err 3 and a half, hence the four star rating. Please be kind and enjoy the Dead!

This version of the Other One is brilliant.If whole shows are your thing than you have been let down by the band nightly from '68-'74,so this show should be nothing new.The PITB is killer and they actually pull off an extraordinary China Cat and I Know You Rider which almost never happens.So what this is a show they played in late '72 much like all the other shows they played in late '72 only this one has an all-time Other One.I can't say that I really care about the Promised Land,Big River or Bertha when the PITB and the Other One are great.Pedestrian my ass.

This is a classic Dead show in every way. It's a really inspired performance with some unique phenomenal peaks, Jerry firing on all cylinders, Bobby matching him note for note, some really fine and excellently recorded drumming by Billy ... and also some weird and apparently "live" mixing to the master tape. IMHO Phil's bass is mixed a bit too low for much of this. Oh yes and some of the worst harmony singing ever in Uncle John's Band (I suspect Phil was tired or fried by the end of the show as he's right on the money earlier in, e.g., Jack Straw). And some cuts in the tape at unfortunate moments (Stella Blue; Other One).

The warts are a secondary consideration, really, because there is something interesting around every corner in this set (in addition to the extreme highlights already noted below). The Deal is short but sweet and Bobby's accents are really lovely. Jerry's guitar is out of tune during the first part of Sugar Mag, so it's truncated a bit. But then during the Sunshine Daydream rather than rip the sht out of the song he sorta floats above the riff and comes up with this very cool and beautifully played little melody to which Bobby and Donna respond with some insane singing. The first ten minutes of Playin' are nice but not terribly interesting. And then Jerry finds his wah pedal ...

There was something about this venue.

It'd be swell if someone could find the rest of the show. I bet the Box of Rain and the Bird Song are pretty tasty.

no track labels.

The highlights are duly noted by others (PITB, jammin' Truckin' and the sadly boken up TOO), but please make note of one of THE great early versions of STELLA BLUE. Jerry's voice in particular "shines" on this gorgeous version, even tho' the song as yet does not contain the "gonna make 'em Shine!" lyric-instead, it's "Can't keep from cryyyyyyin'..." and it's almost as good if not better. Worth it for the Stella alone!

How many times do we see mediocre shows get 5 stars? Well, if this isn't a 5 star show than I do not know what is. The negatives- partial show, imperfect soundboard and the devastating cut in the Other One are more than compensated for by the outstanding playing of Jerry. Playin' is one of the best ever. This also has to be one of the most unique Other Ones from this time period with Jerry leading the way again. The China Rider transition is also very good. Perhaps there's a pristine copy of this show in the vault waiting to be released? We can only hope so, but for now this source is more than adequate.

Me and the gang attended all three shows and all three were keepers. What makes this night stand out in memory were three unusual occurrences.

Firstly, we travelled by auto from 25 miles east where it snowed four inches of pure powder. THIS is a highly unusual circumstance because it so rarely snows in the SF Bay Area and if it does it is slushy snow. It was very cold.

Secondly, the song "Stairway to Heaven" had been recently released and on our way to the gig, someone asked me if I had heard the new song that everybody was talking about. I replied, "Oh, this one?" and switched on the FM radio precisely as the first note of the song aired.

Thirdly, due to the rather inclement weather in the city, the opening night of this run was sparesly attended (although it did sell out) by a late-arriving crowd. When we arrived the floor was uncrowded and it was very easy to move throughout the entire venue. It was delicious to not be "poured", for once, into Winterland like ground meat into a sausage tubing and it made for a delightfully comfortable evening.

The music? This was a well-played show. Other than the apropos Cold Rain and Snow opener, all I remember was that the Other One was so ominous in tone during its space section that it scared the bejesus out of one our gang who was a little too high. They succumbed to a minor freakout, but rebounded nicely by show's end.

This recording is passable with some minor hiss and glitches. Without that, this show would merit a five star rating.

This run @ the greatest of ALL rock venues, is really spectacular. PITB is COSMIC... Truckin' has that wonderful '72 bounce to it, which extends into the JAM afterwards, and TOO invokes one of the best versions they ever did,the one from the Stanley Theatre on Sept. 28th.
Can I get an "AMEN" that Rhino Records needs to NOT, NOT, NOT release any fuckin' compilations, and start releasing more shows. I understand that not all of the shows ever played even exist & that not every song from some shows was recorded or survived, but PLEASE RELEASE MORE!!! Maybe box sets of runs such as this could be done. I'm more than willing to shell out $60 or $70 for CD's covering these shows---or maybe $25 or $30 to download them.

This is a great "Other One."

Pretty as opposed to propulsive, so maybe it's looking ahead to '73 instead of being typically vicious (though rich) '72 fare. Of course the tone is a bit thinner than '73 would be, but it sparkles and takes you to some lovely vistas.

The bookend perhaps to 7/25/72's "Other One," also unusual for the period.

The coldest night of the year and the Dead kept us waiting on Post St. for what seemed like hours. When we finally got inside, they started most appropriately, with Cold Rain & Snow-we knew we were in for a special night. Man, I wish that opener was here.
I'm thinking that the New Riders were supposed to open, but due to the delay, the Dead came on right off the bat. Hey, 33 years is a long time!

Yeah, there is hiss, and there are level problems here and there, but there is also an excellent PITB and China Cat > Rider. Real nice bouncy Truckin', although we're "trusted" down on Bourbon Street. Garcia's playing is flawless and fluid throughout, too many little gems to mention. It's hard for me to pass up a Winterland show, particularly from 72, but this here is some really fine playing. Check out Weir's jamming in The Other One(unfortunately cut in middle)Strong Sugar Magnolia, but UJB hacked up. 5 for energy/execution, but sound takes it to a 4 overall. So what! Get it!

Just ran stream while i did some work on my taxes.(oh what fun)Several good jams,but hissy.I downloaded a few cuts then cleaned them up a little.Nice Truck>>Other One jam. Playing is spacey also,but a little saturated. Jams 4 stars,sound 3. Worth running the stream on a cold winters day.